The present invention provides an improvement in nutritionally fortified Ready-To-Eat cereals (“R-T-E”), to nutritionally fortified clusters useful as additives for adding to R-T-E cereals, and to methods of preparing such additives and to methods of preparing fortified R-T-E cereals.
Of course, R-T-E cereals provide a baseline of nutrition provided by the native level of vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. provided by conventional grain materials from which such R-T-E cereals are typically prepared. To increase the nutrition level of cereals above the base line provided by cereal ingredients, R-T-E cereals have long been nutritionally fortified with added micronutrients such as vitamins and certain trace elements and macronutrients such as minerals (e.g., calcium), soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, or soy protein. By micronutrients are meant materials added at levels of less than 1% (including any carriers or encapsulants). In contrast, macronutrients are materials added at levels of 1% or greater.
Conventionally, both micronutrients such as supplemental vitamins and trace minerals and macronutrients such as added fiber have been incorporated into the cooked cereal dough from which such R-T-E cereals have been prepared. These nutritionally fortifying ingredients have been blended together with the other dry ingredients, and cooked with moisture, formed into a cooked cereal dough, formed into pieces, and finished dried to form dried ready-to-eat cereals. For heat sensitive materials such as certain heat sensitive vitamins that degrade during the cooking operation, these materials can be added later in the cereal preparation such as being topically applied to formed and dried pieces.
Some consumers desire R-T-E cereals with particular vitamin and mineral fortification levels. For example, a whole-wheat cereal marketed under the WHEATIES® trademark may contain up to 25% of the recommended daily allowance for several vitamins per serving size (typically about 30 grams). However, a similar whole-wheat based flaked product marketed under the TOTAL® brand is fortified with 100% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance (USRDA) of these and additional vitamins in a 30 g serving. More recently, these whole-wheat flakes have been improved to additionally contain 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium. Other R-T-E cereal products such as those intended for consumption primarily by children may contain 100% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium but lesser amounts (e.g., 25% USRDA) of other vitamins.
Typically, in response to consumer demands for R-T-E cereal products of varying vitamin and mineral content, cereal manufactures have introduced a variety of new products or line extensions of old products that contain various levels of vitamins and minerals. These products are typically mass-produced and distributed nationally. The proliferation of such products variations greatly increases the cost and complexity of providing R-T-E cereals to the producer and the grocery retailer such as by increasing inventory shortening production runs, requiring customized packaging with particular nutritional labeling, more advertising, increasing the demand for grocery shelf display space, etc. Often, consumers are confused by differences in products that look and taste the same but vary in levels of nutritional fortification. Comparisons among competing products are also difficult since each producer may choose a different portion size of product for nutrition information.
However, recent consumer trends indicate consumer interest in consumer customized R-T-E cereal products. Rather than a consumer going to a grocery store and selecting from among over 200 varieties of R-T-E cereals that are typically carried a conventional grocery store, it would be desirable for the consumer to order R-T-E cereal customized to his/her particular taste and/or nutritional requirements whether at a retail store, by mail order, over the Internet or otherwise. See, for example, U.S. Ser. No. 60/181,282 entitled “Customized Food Selection, Ordering And Distribution System And Method” (filed Feb. 9, 2000), which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, a male consumer might desire an R-T-E cereal comprising whole-wheat flakes having high levels of calcium, soy protein, and other vitamins but specifically not including iron while a female might desire essentially the same cereal but with high levels of iron fortification. The female consumer might further request that 100% of the USRDA for calcium be provided in a 30 g portion of this flaked cereal while the male, having a heartier appetite, in a 50 g portion. Another time, the consumer might desire the same product but additionally comprising raisins yet nonetheless providing the same level of particular micronutrients and macronutrients in the same potion size and form (e.g., whole wheat flakes).
Heretofore, there has not been any technique for providing individualized R-T-E cereals characterized by very particular levels of individual micronutrient and macronutrient levels.
Another problem in delivering higher levels of both vitamin and mineral fortification resides in the potential for adverse taste and texture effects resulting from such additions. While low levels of one vitamin might not adversely affect flavor, color or texture, the desire to provide the entire USRDA of a particular vitamin or mineral in a small quantity of R-T-E cereal greatly increase the likelihood of an adverse impact. For example, the current 100% USRDA for calcium is 1000 mg per day. To provide that level of calcium in 30 g of cereal might require calcium ingredient levels of 6-15% depending upon calcium material employed. Providing R-T-E cereal products containing 100% USRDA levels of calcium in addition to other desired fortifiers including additional minerals, vitamins and various macronutrients such as soy and fiber all within a mere 30 g of R-T-E cereal is a formidable challenge. Making such a powerfully fortified R-T-E cereal product not only palatable but sufficiently pleasing to compete with other tasty unfortified R-T-E cereals already familiar to consumers is even more challenging. Providing a technique for accomplishing high levels of fortification in an organoleptic appealing yet familiar product yet non-the-less customized to individual consumer's orders that vary from order to order has been previously unthinkable.
Still another problem in providing such highly fortified R-T-E cereals resides in the physical form of the various vitamins, minerals and macronutrients. Such materials may be in the form of liquids, powders, and particulate pieces of various sizes. Topically applying a mixture of such heterogeneous mixtures in amounts sufficient to provide high levels of fortification might not be practical and yet maintain the basic shape identity, e.g., a flaked cereal, of the finished product.
Further complicating the difficulties of formulating calcium fortified food products is that calcium-containing materials have their own particular, frequently undesirable taste properties. Worse, calcium can also interact with other ingredients, particularly flavors, to reduce desired flavors or to generate undesired off flavors especially over extended times at room temperature storage.
In view of the state-of-the-art, there is a continuing need for new and useful nutrient food products that provide high levels of fortification of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide nutrient clusters that provide high levels of vitamin, mineral and macronutrient fortification.
A further object of the present invention is to provide nutrient clusters suitable for use for blending with conventional R-T-E cereal products and to provide blended nutritionally fortified ready cereal products characterized by not only high levels of nutrient fortification but also by good taste and texture attributes.
In it is still another object of the present invention to provide nutrient clusters providing higher levels of nutrient fortification that are suitable for use for consumption as a R-T-E cereal or snack product by themselves.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide additives for R-T-E cereals that provide high levels of nutrition that can be blended with conventional R-T-E cereal pieces but which do not compromise the product identity of the blended R-T-E cereal products.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide convenient, practical, economic, and simple methods for customized preparation of nutritionally fortified ready the eat cereals in response to individual consumer selection of particular types in levels of nutritional fortification.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide nutrient additives for R-T-E cereal products having improved organoleptic properties.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods for preparing calcium fortified nutrient additives for R-T-E cereal products having improved organoleptic properties.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide methods for fortified sweetened dried fruit products wherein the calcium is supplied by insoluble calcium salts such as calcium phosphates.
It has been surprisingly discovered that the above objectives can be realized and superior heterogeneous nutritionally fortified clusters, comprising a first particulate component; a nutrient powder blend, and sufficient binder to adhere the powder to the particulates. The present invention further provides novel methods of preparation of such heterogeneous nutrient cluster products involving coating particulates, particularly those bearing higher levels of macronutrients, with a quantity of liquid binder that can contain within the binder dissolved or dispersed nutrients to form sticky binder coated particulates and then coating the binder coated particulates with a dry nutrient powder blend to form a nutrient cluster in the form of pieces and thereafter curing nutrient clusters to solidify the liquid binder to form the present dried solid nutrient clusters.
The present nutritionally fortified clusters are particularly suitable for blending with an R-T-E cereal base to form a finished R-T-E cereal product or for consuming alone as a snack food or as a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. The R-T-E cereal base can be of conventional cereal pieces or can include fortified pieces.
Of course, R-T-E cereal products comprising blends of R-T-E cereals and unfortified clusters have been sold for many years. For example, an R-T-E cereal available under the Honey Nut Clusters® mark comprises sugar-coated flakes from cooked cereal doughs blended with clusters. The unfortified clusters comprise various cereals and nut particles held together with a sugar binder or matrix material. However, these clusters are formulated and made for taste and texture attributes rather that for providing higher levels of vitamin and mineral fortification although, of course, some nutrition is provided from the ingredients from which the clusters are prepared. It is a surprising and inventive aspect of the present invention that cluster particulate additives and techniques for preparing such additives can be simply modified to provide the present fortified nutrient clusters.